Posts Tagged ‘Channing Frye’

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Early Run Of Injuries Taking Its Toll

November 16, 2012  ·  1:42PM


HANG TIME SOUTHWEST – The Dallas Mavericks signed journeyman big man Eddy Curry out of desperation at the center position with Chris Kaman injured. When he returned, Dallas cut Curry and signed out-of-work Troy Murphy because power forward took top billing on the depth chart with Dirk Nowitzki rehabbing from surgery.

The Minnesota Timberwolves, down four starters and six rotation players to injury, signed Josh Howard off the street Thursday. The Toronto Raptors are reportedly looking into unemployed 3-point shooter Mickael Pietrus to plug into their injury-depleted roster.

Entering just the third week of the 2012-13 season, injuries — many to some of the game’s biggest and brightest stars — are the overwhelming story line as overworked team medical staffs are on 24-hour notice.

Both conferences can field a veritable All-Star team, position-by-position, of players that have recently returned from injury, were injured prior to the season or are injured now.

The West: Steve Nash, Ricky Rubio, Eric Gordon, Shawn Marion, Chauncey Billups, Kevin Love, Nowitzki, Andrew Bogut.

The East: Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, John Wall, Kyle Lowry, Dwyane Wade, Danny Granger, Amar’e Stoudemire, Andrew Bynum, Nene.

Yet that’s hardly all of the NBA’s wounded. Here’s more of those who have been, still are or just got injured: Gerald Wallace, Gerald Henderson, Mario Chalmers, Devin Harris, A.J. Price, Nikola Pekovic, Kirk Hinrich, Grant Hill, J.J. Barea, Brandon Roy, Chase Budinger, Anthony Davis, Steve Blake, Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur, Channing Frye, Landry Fields, Iman Shumpert, Alan Anderson, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Avery Bradley.

When Minnesota came to Dallas earlier this week with five players out (and Pekovic’s sprained ankle in the third quarter would make it six), coach Rick Adelman engaged in something of a “Who’s on First” rapid-fire Q & A with beat writer Jerry Zgoda.

Jerry: Who’s your backup 3 and your backup 2?

Rick: We don’t have a backup 3. I’m going to start Malcolm (Lee) tonight at the 2 and bring Alexey (Shved) off the bench at both spots. And then at the 3, I don’t know, we’re going to slide somebody there.

Jerry: Have to play AK (Andrei Kirilenko) 48 minutes?

Rick: I don’t want to do to that. We don’t need to wear him out, too.

Jerry: Can you get five or six (minutes) out of (assistant coach Terry) Porter?

Rick: I don’t think so.

A year ago, the worry around the league was how an abbreviated training camp following the hasty resolution to the lockout and then a compacted, 66-game schedule would affect player health. With a full, month-long camp this time around and a complete slate of eight preseason games, this spate of injuries is as unexpected as unfortunate.

Entering this weekend’s games, only the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder among the league’s 30 teams boast clean injury reports, and 22 list more than one injured player.

When the Mavericks play the Indiana Pacers tonight, they expect to get Marion back after a five-game absence with a sprained left knee. Nowitzki will remain out as will Indiana’s Granger. For Dallas, it’s been a strange run of not only playing shorthanded, but facing teams with at least one starter sidelined. They played, in order: Toronto (Lowry), New York (Stoudemire), Charlotte (Henderson), Minnesota (Love, Rubio, Roy, Budinger) and Washington (Wall, Nene).

“The league’s not going to stop and wait for you,” Adelman said the other night about his team’s rash of injuries. “A lot teams are having the same issues with major injuries. As a coaching staff you can’t coach the people that aren’t there. You only can coach the people that are there.”

And so it goes in a very strange first month in the NBA.

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Draft Comparisons: Leonard, Marshall, Zeller and Rivers

June 28, 2012  ·  1:43PM





HANG TIME NEW JERSEY – As Draft time rolls around and we learn about the next class of NBA rookies, there’s a desire to compare each to players we’re already familiar with.

No two players are exactly alike and some players are more unique than others. But you can find comparisons by watching video, crunching stats or matching measurements. For this exercise, we did the latter two.

Listed below are four of the top picks, along with the current NBA players they compare with most. For this exercise, we looked at 10 stats from each player’s last season in college, and eight measurements taken at the annual pre-draft combine.

Because we used college numbers and combine numbers, the only current players we could compare this year’s prospects to were the ones who played in college (so no LeBron James or Dwight Howard) and participated in the combine since 2000 (Rajon Rondo is one notable name missing in that respect).

The following comparisons aren’t gospel, of course, but they’re one way to get ready for the Draft on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). (more…)

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Hot Suns are worthy of discussion

April 14, 2012  ·  12:17AM





HOUSTON — Marcus Camby pulled down 18 rebounds in the first half on Friday night and gave the Suns something to talk about during the intermission.

“It was a discussion,” said coach Alvin Gentry. “Very much a one-way discussion. I think the point was well-taken.”

On the receiving end of the “discussion” were Gentry’s big men, center Marcin Gortat and forward Channing Frye. It was suggested that perhaps someone could possibly do something to make collecting rebounds a little more difficult than plucking daisies on a spring day for Mr. Camby.

So the Suns played with more energy, more urgency, more desperation and Camby didn’t get a single rebound in the second half, while Phoenix got a 112-105 win.

“We just got yelled at,” said Gortat, who finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds. “We just came out harder. Let’s say the first half was just a warmup. There’s not a situation with the team. We’re all committed to winning games.

“Yes, let’s call it a discussion. But there were no issues, no problems at all. I already talked to him four times as soon as the game was over. If the guy grabs 18 rebounds in one half, then someone is not doing his job, someone has got to get yelled out. Unfortunately, it was me. Really, it was a funny situation, a story that you can put in a book.”

If the Suns continue their amazing stretch drive, it could eventually be a chapter in a real-life fairytale. Phoenix appeared dead in the water just over six weeks ago, sitting at 14-20. But now the Suns have reeled off 17 wins in 8 games and are sitting just one game behind Houston for the final playoff spot.

“It was hard not to think of this as a must-win game,” said Steve Nash.

It’s hard to not think of the stretch run of the schedule that way for the Suns. Starting tonight in San Antonio, Phoenix will play six of its last seven games against teams with records above .500, all of whom have something at stake in the West race.

A few days ago, the Rockets appeared to be in good position, but stumbled twice at home. Denver has been up and down. Utah lost on Friday night in New Orleans. The door could be open for the Suns.

With Grant Hill back in the lineup just two weeks after knee surgery, with Nash on top of his game and feeding Gortat, Jared Dudley stepping up and the long-suffering Michael Redd just happy to be able to play and contribute again, would you really bet against the surging Suns?

That’s worth another discussion.

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Griffin Gets Another One

March 29, 2012  ·  12:46PM

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – We’re still not sure what we like more — the set up, the dunk itself or the wicked smile on Blake Griffin‘s face after he finished smashing non Channing Frye?


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Rosen’s Report: Dallas at Phoenix

March 8, 2012  ·  10:12AM

Despite the dismantling of their championship squad, the Mavs still nurture hopes of defending their title. For now, they are languishing in the lower-seeded playoff bracket but are only one game away from earning the third seed in the West. They also anticipate that their corps of veterans will have their respective A-games honed when the money season commences.

For the Suns, competing in the playoffs is both a distant memory and an unimaginable future. While Phoenix is still a moderately competitive team, two of their stalwarts — Grant Hill and Steve Nash — are learning that the older they get the faster they get old. Is it time, then, for management to utter the “R” word — Rebuilding?

HOW THE MAVERICKS CAN WIN

Unless he’s double-teamed, Dirk Nowitzki’s dreadnaught arsenal of off-balance, step-back, wrong-footed shot-releases can seldom be deterred. Plus, he’s a dead-eye shooter with 3-point range, is virtually unstoppable when driving left, and has the most convincing shot-fakes in the NBA. Nowitzki has certainly recovered from his early-season slump, yet he remains somewhat erratic — especially before the halftime intermission.  However, Nowitzki usually has long arms whenever a game is up for grabs. Even though Jared Dudley is Phoenix’s best defender, Nowitzki will still have to be two-timed — which will create opportunities for Nowitzki’s timely passes to generate open shots for his teammates.

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StatsCube: The Suns’ Stopper?

March 23, 2011  ·  1:48PM


The Phoenix Suns are not a good defensive team. They currently rank 23rd defensively, allowing 106.9 points per 100 possessions. This is nothing new, of course. Since Steve Nash returned to Phoenix in 2004, the Suns have ranked no better than 13th defensively, with an average ranking of 18.

But this season, some have called for Grant Hill to receive consideration for an All-Defensive Team selection. (He received two First Team votes and zero Second Team votes last season.)

Hill drew more praise from Brent Barry and Chris Webber Tuesday night on TNT, after he did an admirable job defending Kobe Bryant in a 139-137, triple-OT classic in L.A. Bryant scored a game-high 42 points and was relatively efficient (15-for-31 from the field, 3-for-5 from 3-point range, 9-for-11 from the line) in doing so. But Hill made Mamba work for his points, frustrating him at times.

You would have to have watched the game to appreciate the work that Hill put in defensively, because the numbers just don’t spell it out. Bryant’s True Shooting Percentage for the night (.586) was higher than his number for the season (.548).

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StatsCube: Three For All

March 12, 2011  ·  2:53AM

It was one of those nights. You’re tired and ready to go to bed, but there’s one more game still going on League Pass and the score is kind of close. So you put it on and end up catching one of the most entertaining games of the year.

It happened back in December with this crazy finish. And it happened again Friday with the Orlando Magic and Golden State Warriors.

“That was a shootout right there,” Dorell Wright said in the aftermath of his team coming back from a 21-point deficit (with a few minutes left in the second quarter) to beat the Magic 123-120 in overtime.

The score doesn’t do the game justice, because it doesn’t account for a wild double-turnover sequence near the end of OT, nor for how much we were all shaking our heads at the shots the Warriors were making in the final minutes. And though the Magic lost a huge lead, it’s hard to stress it too much, because teams just aren’t supposed to make all of those shots.

Led by Wright, the Warriors hit 21 3-pointers. That set a record for the most in franchise history and tied for third most in NBA history.

Most 3-pointers, single game, NBA history

Team Opp. Date 3PM 3PA
Orlando @ SAC Jan. 13, 2009 23 37
Phoenix @ LAL Nov. 14, 2010 22 40
Golden State vs. ORL* March 11, 2011 21 35
Toronto vs. PHI March 13, 2005 21 34

* Overtime

Of course, the Magic were hitting some bombs too, 15 to be exact. And the 36 combined threes crushed the previous record of 32, set by the Sonics (14) and Suns (18) in a double-overtime game on Jan. 22, 2006.

And the most prolific 3-point shooters in the game happened to be the league leaders in treys. Wright was 8-for-11 from 3-point range and, for the Magic, Jason Richardson was 7-for-11, allowing him to maintain an edge for the season.

Most 3-pointers, 2010-11

Player Team G 3PM 3PA 3P%
Jason Richardson PHX, ORL 65 159 389 0.409
Dorell Wright GSW 65 154 391 0.394
Ray Allen BOS 63 145 312 0.465
Kevin Martin HOU 64 137 349 0.393
Channing Frye PHX 61 132 333 0.396

Only two of the five guys above were in the 3-point contest, by the way.

Richardson has hit a lot of 3-pointers, but he would have to hit seven in each of the Magic’s 16 remaining games to eclipse Ray Allen‘s NBA record of 269 threes, set with the Sonics in the 2005-06 season.

One last note on this incredible game: The 41 combined points in overtime was the third most in NBA history. The record belongs to the Mavs and Rockets, who combined for 46 points (23 each) in a single overtime period on April 11, 1995.

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John Schuhmann is a staff writer for NBA.com. Send him an e-mail or follow him on twitter.

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StatsCube: More Miami Misses

March 8, 2011  ·  10:01AM

It’s the story that won’t go away until they make a(nother) shot.

So when the Miami Heat host the Portland Trail Blazers tonight (7:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV), they’re probably hoping to get another chance to make a big bucket down the stretch.

Here are the up-to-date numbers, according to NBA.com StatsCube…

When the score is tied or the Heat are trailing by 1-3 points in the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime, they’re shooting 5-for-26 (19.2 percent) from the field. League-wide, shooting is generally bad (31.6 percent) in those situations, but only four teams have been worse than Miami.

Lowest FG%, Last 30 seconds of fourth quarter or OT, tie game or down 1-3

Team FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3PT% FTM FTA FT%
Houston 4 24 16.7% 0 9 .0% 3 3 100.0%
New Orleans 4 24 16.7% 0 10 .0% 8 11 72.7%
New York 2 11 18.2% 2 5 40.0% 1 2 50.0%
Philadelphia 4 21 19.0% 1 7 14.3% 2 2 100.0%
Miami 5 26 19.2% 2 15 13.3% 12 14 85.7%
Portland 3 15 20.0% 1 4 25.0% 7 11 63.6%

Now, when you look at just the last 10 seconds of the fourth quarter or OT, the Heat’s numbers look even worse. They’re 1-for-18 from the field and 0-for-11 from 3-point range when looking to tie or take the lead. And though league-wide shooting is worse in those situations (25.1 percent) than when you look at the last 30 seconds, that 1-for-18 mark is the worst in the league.

The one make came back on Nov. 20 in Memphis, when LeBron James tied the game with a fast-break dunk off a turnover with 5.5 seconds to go. But on the next possession, Rudy Gay beat the buzzer and beat the Heat with a pull-up fadeaway jumper over James.

So not only are the Heat 1-for-18 in those situations, but the one shot they made was a wide-open, fast-break dunk, not a half-court situation. And they still lost that game.

And it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that Gay is the guy that victimized them. He’s one of four players with four buckets in the final 30 seconds with the game tied or his team down 1-3.

Most field goals, Last 30 seconds of fourth quarter or OT, tie game or down 1-3

Player FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3PT%
Dirk Nowitzki 4 5 80.0% 0 0 -
Russell Westbrook 4 8 50.0% 0 1 .0%
Rudy Gay 4 10 40.0% 1 2 50.0%
Derrick Rose 4 11 36.4% 1 4 25.0%

Twelve different players have three makes in that situation. Here’s the list (with number of attempts in parentheses):

Carmelo Anthony (5), Michael Beasley (6), Monta Ellis (5), Tyreke Evans (10), Channing Frye (6), Manu Ginobili (7), Stephen Jackson (9), Tayshaun Prince (4), Charlie Villanueva (7), Deron Williams (9), Mo Williams (4)

One more note: The Heat haven’t done too well in protecting a close lead either. In the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime, the Heat are just 1-for-6 from the field when they’re ahead by 1-3 points.

Obviously, they go to the line often in that situation, but when it comes to hitting a dagger shot from the field in the final minute, only the Bucks (1-for-8) and Pacers (2-for-13) have been worse. The league as a whole shoots 41.5 percent from the field in that situation.

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John Schuhmann is a staff writer for NBA.com. Send him an e-mail or follow him on twitter.

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StatsCube: Makers of the Big Shot

March 1, 2011  ·  10:04AM

Channing Frye did it again. One day after hitting the game-winner at the buzzer in Indiana, Frye hit another one with 6.6 seconds left to beat the Nets on Monday night, ruining Deron Williams’ home debut with his new team.

According to NBA.com StatsCube, only 45 shots (out of 186 tries, in 891 total games) have given a team the lead in the final 10 seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime this season. That’s a pretty dismal shooting percentage (24.2).

But amazingly, Frye isn’t the first guy to hit a game-winner in the final 10 seconds of a game two days in a row this season. Travel back Dec. 15 and 16, when Manu Ginobili hit game-winners against Milwaukee and in Denver. He gets extra credit for drawing a charge on Carmelo Anthony after the Denver bucket.

Three other players have hit multiple game-winners in the final 10 seconds of a game this season…

Michael Beasley: Nov. 17 vs. the Clippers and Dec. 26 at Cleveland

Rudy Gay: Nov. 20 vs. Miami and Jan. 24 at Toronto

Deron Williams: Nov. 6 vs. the Clippers and Nov. 13 at Charlotte

Carmelo Anthony and David West have hit two potential game-winners in the final 10 seconds, but one of Anthony’s was followed by Ginobili’s game-winner, and one of West’s was followed by a buzzer-beating tip-in by Mike Dunleavy in Indiana on Dec. 20.

In total, 125 different players have attempted to give their team the lead in the final 10 seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime. Deron Williams’ six attempts (including one after Frye’s game-winner last night) are the most, while Frye, Gay and Stephen Jackson (one make) have five attempts.

The most attempts without a make is three. Jordan Farmar, LeBron James, Chris Paul and Louis Williams are all 0-for-3 in such situations.

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John Schuhmann is a staff writer for NBA.com. Send him an e-mail or follow him on twitter.

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Some Amore For Amar’e

December 17, 2010  ·  11:15AM

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – You owe Amar’e Stoudemire an apology and you don’t even realize it.

You were probably one of those people laughing last summer when he held up that No. 1 jersey and proclaimed the “Knicks are back.” It sounded funny at the time, the free agent power forward with the sketchy medical report joining the franchise that had been little more than an afterthought for the past decade.

It didn’t exactly seem like the perfect marriage.

But what you didn’t know, what many of us hadn’t realized, is that we’d miscalculated a few things while Stoudemire was in Phoenix playing alongside Steve Nash and for Mike D’Antoni.

The two-time MVP and the coach of the revolutionary “Seven Seconds or Less” offense were both given the majority of the credit for the Suns’ remarkable, but title-free, run of the past six seasons.

With a chance to examine things in a different light now, it’s clear that Stoudemire was and is the linchpin to that success. He’s been at the center of two franchise revivals in his career, first in Phoenix and now in New York. All that time spent nit-picking about Stoudemire not being a better rebounder or shot blocker was a waste. You should have been concentrating on what he does best, which is win.

And if you need metrics to make you feel better about that, just look a the records of those teams with Stoudemire and without him.

The Suns won 54 games and made the Western Conference finals last season with HT fave Alvin Gentry coaching Nash and Stoudemire. Without him, they’ve faded from the elite scene in the West. They’re sitting at 12-12 and lack a low-post anchor (with all apologies to Robin Lopez and Channing Frye) for Nash and a talented cast of shooters to work around.

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